Beyond borders

When FMGru was established in 1920, it was working in the welded construction and metal structure sector. In 1963, the company decided to devote all its financial and human resources to crane production.

The company’s first cranes were self-erecting tower cranes, the topslewing AM model. FMGru’s product offering for this crane segment expanded over the years, and its current, bottom-slewing, RBI series consists of seven models with capacities between 1.8t and 5t. This range features jibs from 24m to 40m.

At the company’s headquarters in Pontenure, which span over 100,000sq m, are also manufactured fl at top TLX cranes, designed for civil constructions and TCK cranes, ideal for every application.

The TLX series of fl at top cranes features models with jibs from 35m to 85m and capacities ranging from 2.4t to 25t, while the TCK cranes come with a 65m jib and have capacities of 4t to 12t.

Giacomo Fuochi, general manager at FMGru, says the Italian market used to account for 70% of sales before 2007, while today this has fallen to just a small percentage. “In Italy there is not much commercial construction, the activity is focused on a small number of infrastructure projects.”

During the financial crisis the manufacturer had to expand its international sales, appointing dealers and commercial partners around the world. “Before approaching new markets, we identified the products from our portfolio that match each market’s needs and promoted them.”

There are currently FMGru cranes working on big infrastructure projects in a number of African countries, including Uganda, Algeria, Congo, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.

Despite the negative effects on the market in the Middle East because of the drop in oil prices, Fuochi sees a growth in demand from Dubai and Qatar. “These countries are hosting major events—the Expo 2020 will be held Dubai and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—so they have to start investing in construction again, to prepare the infrastructure for these events,” he says.

He adds that large companies in the Middle East prefer European products, while for smaller companies, which are more price-sensitive, there is strong competition from Chinese manufacturers.

“Turkey is a very good market for FMGru. Last year we had a big contract for an important project in the country, thanks to our dealer who our dealer who has been working with us actively in this market for more than 20 years.”

The models used for this project are: 1070 TLX P10, 1470 TLX 010 and 1760 TCK P10.

In Europe, FMGru cranes are currently used in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia and Russia. FMGru also has cranes in both North and South America, and in Oceania.

The manufacturer is now working on developing two new cranes.

The 622 RBI–FA is a self-erecting hydraulic crane with 20m height with a maximum lifting capacity of 1.8t and tip load of 600kg. Fuochi says this machine is currently being tested and that it will be introduced to the market later this year. The other crane the company is working on is the TLX 3085 P20/P25. Both these cranes will be presented at Bauma next year.